Headaches are pretty common. At any given time, some people are battling a headache. It can be a dulling and manageable pain, moderate or debilitating. Getting one is not out of the norm. If you were to line up outside a doctor’s office because of a headache, you would not be alone.
The fact that it is common does not diminish its significance. In some cases, a headache can be a symptom of a serious condition. When left unmanaged, this condition can progress. At other times, the pain does not have an identifiable cause and can be recurrent.
Both headaches and eye twitching are common, but is there a link?
Types of Headaches
While we will not focus much on the types of headaches, it helps to note that headaches vary. You can experience more than one headache. You need to understand what pain you have for you to treat the headache.
Most people going to the doctor’s office have a migraine that they wish to do away with. If you have had a migraine, then you know how powerful the pain is. It can get to a point where you can barely move for fear of triggering the pain.
Many people have experienced a tension headache at some point in their lives. We will get to this at a later stage while relating it to eye twitches. At the end of this, you should see a relation between these two common symptoms.
Migraines
Migraines come in two forms: those with and those without aura. In the case of the latter, you are likely to have inherited the pain. The pain can be mild or debilitating, and you may experience blurred vision and dizziness.
It can occur on one or both sides and often has effects such as light and sound sensitivity and nausea. For some people, it gets so bad that they vomit owing to the sensitivity.
Moving can become a problem, and some people have reported throbbing in their heads. It is the kind of pain you would wish away. But it is not that easy to get rid of it.
In the case of migraines with auras, you get a warning sign, otherwise known as an aura. These are signals that you are about to get a migraine, and they can be visual in some cases.
It could be the tingling of your hand, sudden dizziness, spots, waves, and other such signals. They are not necessarily accompanied by pain.
Tension Headaches
These are quite common, and they affect just about anyone. Later on, we will get into these headaches a bit more. More often than not, they result from stress and fatigue, among other factors. They can be short term or last for extended periods.
Some people will get them for days in a row, which can be frustrating. Pain, in this case, is not usually severe and is often mild to moderate. It can be on one or both sides, and the head feels pressed or tightened.
You can still engage in activities as movements do not trigger the pain. While some people may experience sensitivity to sound and light, nausea is a rare effect.
Cluster Headaches
This condition affects more men than women in the ratio five to one. It is common in men in their twenties going up. It characterizes as a sharp pain on one side of the head. Often, the pain is accompanied by sweating, nasal congesting, drooping eyelid, and pupil contraction.
The pain moves on one side of the face continually. It can start at the temple, move to the jaw, the nose, teeth, and other parts. Usually, the pain lasts fifteen to ninety minutes, and it occurs in cycles. That means that patients can experience the pain for weeks leading into months.
These are known as cycles where attacks can be as many as three in a day. Sleeping does not stop the cycles, and patients have been known to lie awake at night, fighting the excruciating pain.
Migraines can sometimes manifest as cluster headaches. These headaches have triggers such as alcohol, lack of sleep, smoking, and other factors. Patients can rely on medication to keep the pain away.
Medication Overuse Headaches
Yes, too much medicine can cause the onset of headaches. Did we mention that medication has been known to cause eye twitching? There goes another similarity. These headaches were known as rebound headaches in the past.
They occur when a patient has used relief medicine more than three times in a week. In such a situation, they can get this headache. When they take relief medicine, it goes away. This headache is tricky because it can get the patient into a cycle of overusing pain pills.
What happens? Well, as you continue using pain pills to fight the headaches, you alter the brain’s ability to fight pain. That means that you are more likely to experience pain and will reach for more pills over time. The solution here is to brave the pain and allow your body to regain its pain-fighting mechanisms.
Sinus Headaches
When you have congestion or inflammation in your sinus cavities, you are at risk of such headaches. They occur around the eyes, cheeks, and nose. When you have such pain, you become sensitive to touch. It gets worse when you cough or move your head.
This headache is quite rare, and not many people will get it. Sometimes, a migraine may be to blame, yet people end up treating the headache as a sinus headache. It helps to be wary.
Chronic Daily Headache
This headache, abbreviated as CDH, occurs for many days in a row. It can be due to persistent headaches such as migraines and tension headaches. However, it owes to medicine overuse in most cases. Typically, people experience pain for more than fifteen days each month.
Sometimes, this condition may arise due to depression or anxiety. When you get help for these, the headache goes away. At other times, the headache may link to stressful experiences in life.
For example, where a patient has undergone sexual abuse, one is likely to experience such a headache. Obesity could be to blame in some cases. At other times, it points to a lack of adequate sleep.
Causes of Headaches
Headaches often result from triggers, where they are not present due to medical reasons. You should thus know what factors are likely to cause headaches and ways to keep them at bay.
Most times, doctors advocate that you keep a diary that can help you identify the causative factors. Here is a thought- why not keep a diary for likely eye twitch causes? That way, you can have an easy time identifying them?
Here are some likely headache causes:
What you eat
Your diet plays an integral role in how good or bad you feel. Some foods have been proven to trigger pain in some patients. Monosodium glutamate is one such culprit.
It is common in foods such as pizzas and chips. This component can trigger headaches in some people. Caffeine also contributes to headaches as much as it can contribute to twitches.
Thus, drinking no more than three cups of coffee a day should help. That goes for all caffeinated drinks as well. You could get better results by eliminating them as a whole.
Alcohol, dairy, meats, fruits, desserts, and artificial sweeteners are also likely triggers. You can start by eliminating them one by one to see if the headache patterns in your diary change.
Other than what you eat, you also need to think about how you eat. Keeping a regular eating schedule and not missing meals will help a great deal. Maybe the pain comes from hunger. Also, you may be lacking protein servings in your food. Do you drink enough water? You should factor all these in when working on your diet.
What’s around you
You may not pay much attention to your environment, but you should. What you expose yourself to will eventually affect your body. Common triggers include light and sound. Light can be anything from sunlight exposure to hours spent glaring into a computer screen.
Sounds are any loud noises around you. Maybe you work in a noisy environment, and your ears have had enough of the noise. These stimuli can cause you headaches constantly.
Also, what smells are you around? Strong scents can trigger pain. Weather and climate changes are also to blame in some cases. Maybe you recently traveled, and your body is yet to adjust to the new environment.
What you do
Leading a sedentary life increases your chances of developing a headache. It thus helps to undertake some exercises now and then to keep the pain at bay.
Some aerobics classes could help, and so would a walk. Massages have been proven to help ease the tension. For some people, heightened activities trigger the pain, so you should start slow then build from there.
How you feel
Your emotions play a significant role in the working of your body. When you feel stressed, you release chemicals in your brain that can trigger a headache. When you relax, the likelihood of pain reduces, and you can work on finding a solution to your problem.
Stressing out makes the problem worse. It does not help to feel anxious about the headache. If anything, it increases its chances of occurrence.
The way you sleep
Lack of adequate sleep puts a strain on your body, and this pressure exhibits as a headache. You thus need to sleep more if you are not getting enough rest.
Where you are unable to sleep owing to sleep disorders, you should get an assessment for the same. It helps if you avoid screens and large meals before sleeping.
Medication
The medicine you are using could have headaches as a side effect. It is thus essential that you keep a diary. This way, you can figure out if the pain started when you began to use the drugs.
Also, present the medicine to your doctor during your consultation.
Your hormone levels
During pregnancy, it is common to have headaches owing to a change in hormones. Some people get headaches during their menstrual cycles. It is thus possible that the pain could result from a change in hormones, and you should look into this.
After assessing the above likely causes, you can likely pinpoint what you need to work on. If the pain continues or becomes worse, you will need to consult a doctor.
They can advise you on recommended lifestyle changes or put you under treatment, or both.
Eye Twitching and Headaches- Is there a connection?
From the causes of eye twitches and headaches, you can see that the two have common causes. Examples include stress, fatigue, nutritional deficiencies, consumption of caffeine, and others.
You are thus likely to experience both at the same time, owing to a common trigger. Here are a few such scenarios:
Tension Headaches and Eye Twitches
A tension headache occurs when the muscles in your face, neck, or head get tense. It also goes by the name muscle-contraction headache, an indication of its cause.
Most people have experienced such headaches, just like most people have had a twitch.
Causes
This headache results from tense muscles along the face, neck, and head. Muscles can contract owing to the following reasons:
Stressful lifestyle
We have covered the many ways through which stress affects your body. If you are stressed out or anxious, you are likely to trigger a tension headache.
Injury
If you have suffered an impact to your skull, you are at risk of developing such pain. Thus, when you get into an accident, you should ensure that you get checked by a health professional.
For some people, the pain lingers after getting meds, and it takes time before it goes away.
Depression
Yes, being depressed can trigger this pain. You should seek help when you observe any symptoms related to depression. Many channels offer you help with this.
Fatigue
If you do not rest enough, you are likely to strain your body. The stress exhibits itself in the form of such pain. It helps to get enough sleep and take rest when you can. Naps help, as do breaks from work.
Hunger
Did you know that being hungry can cause headaches? The same goes for when you overeat. Stick to a given eating schedule and have snacks in-between primary meals. Alcohol is also to blame for some headaches.
Stimuli
Noises and light can trigger this pain. If you feel that the pain gets worse after such exposure, you should limit the same.
Some medical conditions may be to blame for this pain. Also, staying in one position can lead to cramping, which causes headaches.
Symptoms
You can tell that you have a tension headache when you experience a band tightening around your head. The associated pain is dulling and can worsen over time.
It makes it hard for you to concentrate on tasks or sleep. Also, it increases when you get exposed to stimuli, such as glares and noises. Stress and fatigue also do not help the situation much.
Now, here is a relation to eye twitching. While a tension headache may not have an eye twitch as a symptom, muscle spasms can occur. When this happens, you feel like your head is throbbing. Thus, both conditions have muscle spasms as a symptom.
Diagnosis and treatment
No single test can confirm or rule out this type of headache. A health professional will thus rely on a physical exam and your medical history to diagnose the condition. Your symptoms will also matter.
Treatments include relaxation exercises, regular physical activity, and meds. If the pain does not reduce, you need to consult your doctor for more assessments.
You can pretty much use the natural remedies that work for eye twitching. Given that the causative factors are mainly lifestyle-related, that should help a great deal.
Migraines and Hemifacial Spasm
A hemifacial spasm occurs where the involuntary movements affect more than just the eyes. Other parts also get affected, such as the cheeks, jaws, and neck. Often, the spasms start at the top and move towards lower parts of the face over time. Now, how do migraines and these spasms relate?
While the cases are not many, there have been reports of migraines triggering hemifacial spasms. Studies show that the relationship could owe to migraine activities which trigger involuntary muscle movements. Thus, the spasms could be a complication of the migraines.
Conclusion
Eye twitches and headaches often result from the same causes, which are mainly lifestyle choices. Thus, the likelihood that eye twitching and headaches could occur at the same time is high.
You should, therefore, work on eliminating any triggers that could result in the same.
